The sun shining through the crack in my curtains lands squarely over my eyes, waking me far earlier for a Saturday morning than I want—at least I think it’s early. I have no idea. Rolling over with a groan, I reach for my phone to check the time and find the screen blank.
Letting my head fall back to the pillows, I let out a deep sigh to the ceiling.
Not again.
I lean over the side of the bed and take in the sight of my charging cord on the floor where I apparently neglected to plug it into the phone before heading to bed early last night. Carefully, I reach down, pluck it from the floor and plug the device in, all while managing to keep from falling to the carpet.
While I wait for the phone to power on, I listen for movement from the rest of the house and hear nothing but the heat kicking on. Wade must have already gone in to work today. That’s one of the only good things about having Wade as a roommate—his shop is open on Saturdays, but mine is not. Therefore, I get every Saturday morning to myself. It’s my favorite day of the week for just that purpose. I can do whatever the fuck I want without being disturbed.
This morning, I want to do absolutely nothing.
Turning my attention back to my phone, I wait patiently for all the email and notification icons to pop up. I’m surprised when I see I’ve got an unread text from a number I don’t recognize. Clicking on the button, I pull up the message.
“Hey Nolan, this is Rylie. I’m out at Tapped. Jaron was with me but had to head out early. Just wondering what you were up to tonight and if you might want to grab a beer and reminisce?”
I scramble to sit up, reading the message at least another half a dozen times, looking for hidden meaning in Rylie’s words. But all I can think about is how she asked me out for a beer and I missed the message. Scrubbing a hand down my face, I type up a response, hoping I didn’t blow my chance.
“Hey Rylie. My phone died last night and I didn’t get your message until this morning.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Rylie replies.
Dammit.
“I was just feeling nostalgic and looking for someone to reminisce with. No big deal.” Another message pops up.
Aw fuck. I have no idea how to read that. Did she really just want someone to swap childhood stories with last night, or does she think I was blowing her off?
Exhaling a breath, I debate how to respond, then decide not to. Not right now, anyway. She’s at work, and Malone and Sons is always busy on Saturdays, considering they’re the only place open to get an oil change today on that side of town.
I hop into the shower with Rylie still on my mind, barely able to keep myself from jerking off thinking about her.
Okay, that’s a lie.
After I’m done thinking about her naked, I consider how I can convince her that my lack of response last night isn’t a slight to her. I could just be bold and state that in a message to her—but then I run the risk of sounding full of myself if she’s not actually into me. If I don’t respond at all, or soon, she’ll think I’m not into her—if she’s into me.
Shaking my head, I pull on my clothes. I’ve never been one to play these relationship games, because I never know what the right move is. This is one of those situations where I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.
I mean, really, should I even be pursuing her? Wade is my best friend and roommate. Maybe going after his little sister is not the greatest idea. If things end badly with Rylie, I run the risk of an all-out war with both brothers. Then again, what happens if things between Wade and I end badly? Surely, she’d take her brother’s side in a rift like that.
Half my day is spent formulating arguments in my brain about why I should just keep my distance from Rylie. I come up with some pretty convincing arguments, too. But there are always counter-arguments. The main of which is the fact we’re not kids anymore. We’re are both consenting adults, so it shouldn’t matter what her brothers have to say in all this—and this is all assuming she’s interested in me romantically.
But if I’m right…
I pull out my phone and compose a message to Rylie, “What are you up to tonight? I’m free for reminiscing.”
I hold my breath as I hit the send button. There’s no getting that back after it’s on the cell networks. At least the message was innocuous enough it could be interpreted as merely friendly.
What’s the saying? The greater the risk, the greater the reward? Not much risk there right now, but I’m willing to lay more on the line once I know where her head is at. For Rylie, I’ll take much larger risks, just to experience the rewards of something meaningful with her.